Easiest Instant Pot Tomato Risotto

This Instant Pot Tomato Risotto shows the best way to make risotto - any risotto - in the Instant Pot. The tomatoes are roasted with a little balsamic vinegar for extra flavor.

Instant Pot risotto means no more hovering over the stove, gradually stirring in hot broth. Just stir once at the end. Sooo easy!

Jump to Recipe

Want to make this recipe perfectly the first time? I want to help with that. So, check out this Table of Contents to see which sections of this post will help you the most.

Jump to:

• ❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
• 🧅 Main Ingredients + Notes
• 🍚 What kind of rice is used for risotto?
• 🍅 Can I use cherry tomatoes?
• 🔪 Recommended Equipment
• 📝 Instructions Overview
• 👩‍🍳 What are the ways to make risotto?
• 👩‍🍳 Preparation Tips
• 💡Ideas for Possible Variations
• 💡 Ways to use leftover risotto
• Easiest Instant Pot Tomato Risotto

Have you purchased an electric pressure cooker only to have it still in the box, because you don't have a clue what to do with it? Well, you have a lot of company.

I admit that I did unpack mine. But then I slid it onto a shelf in the pantry, where it sat for a very long time. Eventually, I started cooking my beans in it. Then, when I contracted to write a cookbook, my editor blithely announced that I would include a chapter for the Instant Pot. (ACK!!) So, I dragged it out and got to work. Two years and many recipes later, my favorite no-fail recipe is still my Instant Pot Risotto.

❤️ Why you'll love this recipe

• Easiest way to make risotto since it's almost entirely hands-off!
• It's ready to serve in less than 30 minutes.
• Fool-proof creamy texture.
• Versatile for adding seasonal roasted vegetables all year round.
• You're not standing over a hot pot on a hot day.
• Risotto is naturally gluten free.

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🍚 What kind of rice is used for risotto?

The rice used to make risotto is very specific, and should not be substituted with long grain rice. Risotto rice can absorb a lot of liquid and not get mushy. And it's a very starchy rice, which is what makes risottos so beautifully creamy.

Here are the three types you may see at your grocery store. All are excellent choices. Use the same directions when cooking with any of them, but don't rinse risotto rice before cooking it. The starchy coating is super important to getting a creamy risotto.

• Arborio - this is by far the most common anywhere I've ever lived.
• Carnaroli - this is a type favored by many chefs because it holds it's shape the best, while still getting a creamy texture.
• Vialone Nano - grown in the Veneto region of Italy, it cooks up a little faster than carnaroli.

🍅 Can I use cherry tomatoes?

Yes, but be sure they're cherry tomatoes, not grape tomatoes. The shape of grape tomatoes, when roasted, are too small.

Just like with Campari tomatoes and Roma tomatoes (plum tomatoes), either slow roast or do a quick fire roasting under the broiler before stirring them into the risotto.

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📝 Instructions Overview

Detailed instructions for making this Instant Pot risotto are in the recipe card below, but here's an overview!

Step 1

Sauté and add the wine. Select the SAUTE function on your electric pressure cooker, using medium heat. Melt the butter in the inner cooking pot, and stir in the onion. Sauté for 3 minutes, until slightly softened.

Add the rice to the pot, and stir with a wooden spoon to coat. If you have a risotto spoon, go dig it out! Otherwise, use a wooden spoon. Sauté for 3 - 5 minutes to lightly toast the rice.

Pour in the wine and simmer for 2 - 3 minutes, until the wine is absorbed into the rice.

Step 2

Add the broth. Add the water and bouillon paste, or vegetable broth, and salt. 

If using vegetable broth instead of bouillon paste, add an addition ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Bring to a gentle simmer.

Step 3

Pressure cook. Turn the electric pressure cooker off, and lock the lid into place. Select MANUAL and cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 6 minutes.

Allow for a natural release of 5 minutes, and then perform a quick release.

Remove the lid.

Step 4

Add the remaining ingredients. The risotto will have a layer of liquid on top, which will quickly absorb once you stir it. Stir in the Balsamic Roasted Tomatoes, basil and cheese using either a risotto spoon or wooden spoon.

Serve immediately.

👩‍🍳 What are the ways to make risotto?

Using my Instant Pot electric pressure cooker is the most recent method I've used for making risotto. But if you don't have an electric pressure cooker, here are the other ways to make risotto.

• Cook it in the traditional way on the stove top as shown here Butternut Squash Risotto with Pears and Sage.
• Use your Slow Cooker like this Slow Cooker Asparagus Risotto.
• Bake it in a pot: Baked Artichoke Risotto with Radicchio and Lemon - Caper Breadcrumbs.

👩‍🍳 Preparation Tips

• There aren't a lot of ingredients to this risotto, so each ingredient needs to shine. For example, bring out the very best flavor in the onion by finely dicing it. And be sure to toast the rice a couple of minutes before adding the liquid.
• Do not rinse the risotto rice. The starchy coating contributes to a creamy texture.
• If you use vegetable broth instead of bouillon paste stirred into hot water, add ½ teaspoon of kosher salt, or ¼ teaspoon of sea salt.
• Roasting the tomatoes separately guarantees a much deeper flavor to the finished risotto dish. This can be done up to 4 or 5 days ahead.
• Grate your own cheese. It makes a difference! The pre-grated Parmesan cheese is easier to use, no doubt, but typically includes cellulose to keep it from caking together. This cellulose mutes the flavor of the cheese.

💡Ideas for Possible Variations

• Add baby spinach when you stir in the roasted tomatoes and basil.
• Roast other seasonal vegetables in place of the tomatoes. Try asparagus in spring, and butternut squash in autumn!
• Roast a head of garlic in the oven, and squeeze out the number of cloves you'd like to add to the risotto. Coarsely mash in the inner pot of the Instant Pot with the risotto rice, before adding the broth.

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💡 Ways to use leftover risotto

• Reheat with a little extra water, if needed, to achieve the creaminess you want.

• Make risotto cakes! This is the recipe I use on the Food Network.

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